There is much to admire in this independently made Western carved from a small budget and shot in Colorado, where the action takes place in 1879 Cottonwood. Due to a drought that has extended over many years, cattle ranching in the region is dying out, with most area residents moving out. One who has remained, John Gower (Grainger Hines), while riding near his property, comes upon a recently overturned buckboard wagon with a neighbour crushed to death beneath it and his new Brazilian mail order bride, Juliana (Vanusa Spindler), lying nearby and gravely injured. John takes the injured woman to his house where he and his young daughter J.D. (Sabrina Chateau) tend to her injuries, and where an attachment is formed between Juliana and the motherless girl, helping to ease J.D.'s loneliness. Gower's neighbour, Colonel Howling (Ted Markland), believes that if gold were to be found in local stream beds the worth of the dwindling grazing land would be greatly increased, and he therefore employs the services of a geologist for assaying purposes, at the same time attempting to acquire as many local holdings as possible, including that of Gower. Howling's son Adam (Robert Kotecki) decides to assist his father with the land grab, but when he substitutes violence for conventional business dealings, conflict with Gower leads to an inevitable showdown. The storyline has interest but is betrayed by banal dialogue and uneven direction, leading to a series of raggedly conducted scenes, with awkward blocking, while only Spindler invests her role with a consistently compelling style. The cast and crew are often used interchangeably and it is apparent that a good deal of sincere effort went into this production, marked as it is with authentically based production design and costuming in addition to exceptional cinematography, all enhanced by skillful post-production (but for some erratic editing). Colourful to the eye and never dull, THE OUTSIDER is too often burdened by a melodramatic scenario that would have benefited from additional cutting. However, all involved ostensibly enjoyed making the picture, many wearing several hats, e.g., Paul Freeman, who garnered FOURTEEN credits here, including one as a member of the cast and, among the others: original score, musical director, title design and sound editor; it would be difficult to give him a label, unless it were "Deeply Involved".
